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Earth is prime example of a planet which was teeming with life before its atmosphere became oxygen rich.

Martin Still, a NASA exoplanet scientist, said: “We’re moving from theorising about life elsewhere in out galaxy to a robust science that will eventually give us the answer we seek to that profound question: Are we alone?”

Because travelling to these planets is currently impossible, NASA has to rely on the use of powerful space telescopes to scan the star for signs of habitable planets.

Chief among these telescopes are the Hubble and Kepler Space Telescopes, which will soon be joined by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA alien news: The space agency will broaden its approach in hunting for alien life (Image: GETTY STOCK IMAGE)

NASA alien news: Life on alien planets could look very different to that back on Earth (Image: GETTY)

NASA expects to blast off the giant James Webb telescope into orbit over Earth sometime in May 2020.

What does a living planet look like?

Mary Parenteau, NASA

The telescopes help astronomers identify the atmospherics of alien worlds by recording the light they reflect.

Different chemical compositions, or biosignatures in the atmosphere, reflect different bands of light and can show the atmosphere’s makeup as well as the predominant colour of the surface.

But scientists are now opening up to the possibility a wider range of biosignatures linked to life can exist in space.

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Mary Parenteau, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Ames Research Centre, said: “What does a living planet look like?

“We have to be open to the possibility that life may arise in many contexts in a galaxy with so many diverse worlds—perhaps with purple-coloured life instead of the familiar green-dominated life forms on Earth, for example.

“That's why we are considering a broad range of biosignatures.”

Victoria Meadows, astronomer at the University of Washington in Seattle, asserted seeing or not seeing a single biosignature like oxygen is not enough to asses the possibility of life.